Good Old Version Of Thattai

Hear the crunch again, ya, it is me, uncontrollable in eating the thattai ,that my mom made for me, along with my lunch. ( Sssssh.. I always have my lunch with a crisp side dish.)

Let us come to the point. We know thattai is made in many different ways. You might have read my way of making thattai. Yet, this is always the way my mom makes it and as far as I remember, even the store brought ones never equals this taste. She is patient and I am not , I accept. So, I present here how she did it for me when I was in India for the vacation. It had been a month now, yet they stay so good & fresh.

Ingredients

Idly rice- 1 kg

Fried gram – 1/4 kg

Garlic- 1 number

Soaked chana dal- 1 cup or more as you like.

Dried red chilli- 10 numbers

Salt as needed

Oil to deep fry

Wash and soak the idly rice for 3 hours or more. Grind them in a wet grinder with minimal amount of water. Add chilli, peeled garlic pods and salt while grinding. After grinding finely, take it out, add the fried gram dall powder and the soaked chana dal. If this is as tight as chappathi dough, continue to the next step. If it is a little runny, put it on a thick cotton towel and wrap it for an hour to absorb the excess moisture.

Spread a dry cotton dhoti (Long live my daddy!) on the floor and make small uniform balls of the dough and press them with your fingers to make little discs. The excess moisture is totally absorbed by now, and when you lift the discs with a flat spatula , it comes out with so much ease. Else if you have a poori press , line both the surface with a plastic sheet, oil the surfaces and press it to a uniform thickness. This method is faster and easier but, by this way, it consumes more oil as the moisture is not totally taken out.

Either way you press them, deep fry them in groundnut oil in batches and store in an air tight container. As this has no peanuts or sesame seeds, it will sure stay good longer. Enjoy the crispy snack.

Hi laksmi I like this recip, because it is same look like our pappuchekkalu which is made by rice flour, my kids like this snack very much my problem is i dont have rice flour, i have idly rice more now i got new recipe from u with idly rice i want to try immediately. thank u very much

This recipe of making thattai resembles much the way my amma makes it. But I couldn’t decipher what fried gram stands for (Is it Kadala Paruppu a.k.a Bengal gram or any other). Can you pls clarify. I would want to try it once.

Also I see a compelling reason for complimenting your blog…The way you present the recipes, the authentic presentaion…Great work ma.

I meant varutha kadalai/ chutney pappu/ dahlia. I should have used the word roasted gram dall.. I apologize..
Lakshmiammal is my grandma’s name whom I dedicate this blog to. You can address me as you like , as long as I know you are addressing me , the author of this blog.